Adjustable wire stitcher mechanism



Jan. 30, 1951 o. M. TuBBs ADJUSTABLE WIRE STITCHER MECHANISM 2 Sheets-Sheet l rl I.

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Filed April 20, 1948 Jan. 30, 1951 o. M. TuBBs 2,539,599

ADJUSTABLE WIRE STITCHER MECHANISM Filed April 20, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Jan. 30, 1951 Orvilleli/i. Tubbs, Chicago, Ill., assigner to Ireland.` Wire Products. Company, Chicago,.lll., a, corporation of.A Illinois Application AprilZU; 1948; Serial No. 22,047'

8 Claims..

This' invention relates to: any adjustable wire:v stitcher mechanism, and is particularly useful in connectionwithv a machine for forming staples in cartons or other materiali to bestitched.

In; wire stitchingmechanism,v as nowV con-v structed, a platform equipped with rollers is em.- ployed.y for supporting cartons and other objects to be. stitched in a positionv for engagement withthe stitching head'V of the machine; Adjustment of the: platform; to the desired estimated heightv requires the full attention of the operator and is.

time. consuming., When a variety;v of' cartons' or other objects to` be stitched are of different heights, considera-bletimeis los-t in adjusting. thel platform-supporting structure.

An object of the present invention is to provide a wire stitching mechanism in which the wire stitching. operating. partsv are supported in. a frame or head casing, which, is mounted for movement ina stationary frame, the head being readily adjustable with one hand by the. operaton, so that time is not. lost in the feeding of lcartons oi".` varying heights, etc. Yet another object is toprovide a structure in which the stitcher mech-A anism and power. unit therefor are supported in a balanced structure for vertical movement with a minimum of eiortrequired. of' the operator. A stillfurther. object. is to provide such a balanced structure which.. isi equipped with cam followers or wheels which are brought into engagement with, tracks for supporting the stitching mechanism against lateral'. or side. movements. Yet another object is to provide adjustable means for modifying the counterbalance structure to meet. changes. in temperature and other changes. AA still further. object. is. to provide an adjustable shoe arrangement for use on the wire stitcher. head, A still further object is to provide poweroperated means for raising andlowering a slideably-mounted stitcher head casing, together with.

limit switches for bringing about an automatic stopping. of the power unit. Yet another object iste provide awire stitcher mechanism.supported being takenas-indicated at line 3 of Fig. l; Fig..

4, a transverse sectional viewY of the; structureY shown irl-Fig.. 1'; Fig. 5, a broken detail view. showing a switch which-may be supported byv thehead casing and used in. connection` with the electri cally-operatedl elevating structure Fig.. a` view` similar. to Fig. 5, but showing a modiiedA form of. switch which is employed withy the manually@ operated elevating structure; Figure 7- isa frag mentary cross-sectional View through axis; '1 -1g Figure 4; Figure 8 is a. fragmentaryy cross-secFA tional view through axis 8 8., Figure 1; and-Fig.-A ure 9 is a. fragmentaryv exploded View' ofl they shoe of Figure 4 and associated parts.

In. the illustration givenA designatesa casing. having af base Al. Thefcasing. is,v provided, atits7 forward side, as. shown infFig., 2, with an clon gated. slot l0. throughv which a head casing B.V may move in a vertical path.

The. head casing B. may be formed of a single-A casting, or it may beformed of several parts.. Itis equipped, at itsforward ends, witha-wire stitch.`L er or stapling mechanism I.|., whichT is otwe1lknown construction and which is not claimedper se herein. Below the stitcher mechanism Il; iszar shoer l2, which is of well-known construction, and which is employed below. the stitcher mechanism to. provide an anvil for the turning of staples, etc. Theshoe l2 is-.equipped with an` upwardly.-V extending. leg lf3, through which extends a screw..

The screw extends through a slot in theplate 1,4.

of the wire. stitcher mechanism topermit. vertical adjustment of the. leg lalong the. plate l-4-.. AnV adjustment screw l5. is secured to the. bottom'.

wall of the casing. B. and extends throughv an.' opening inthehorizontallange lef the leg I3..

Nuts, engaging the screw l5 on opposite sidesof. the flange I-B, permit the ange 1.5. to be accurately adjusted in a vertical plane.

The casing B is equipped, at its rear, with a. platform l'l upon which is supported a motor I8, The motor drives, through a. pulley on its. shaft,v a belt I9 engaging the large pulley 20 on shaft 2l. The shaft 2l drives, at its forward end, the wire stitchingv mechanism ll. Since the operation ofthe shaft and the operation of theon the bracket 24 are two pairs of rollers 26, which are spaced apart on each side of the bracket 24 and engage the inner side wall of the tracks. Similarly, at the upper side of the casing B, there is a bracket 21 supporting rollers 28, which correspond to the rollers 25 of bracket 24, and roll-` ers 29, which correspond to the rollers 25 of bracket 24.

A chain 33 is secured upon the lower end of the casing B, as shown in Fig. l, and it extends downwardly about the sprocket 3|. The chain extends also about another spaced sprocket 32 and is fixed to the rod 33 carried by a counterweight 34. A chain 35 is similarly fixed to the upper end of the counterweight 34 and extends upwardly -f Yis secured to the lower end of the rod. In turn,

the rod is equipped with a nut 4| resting upon a compression spring 42 supported by a washer 43 on a sleeve 44. The nut 4i may be advanced or retracted alongthe threaded rod 45 to change the tension upon the chain 33.

The sprocket 3| is mounted upon a shaft 45, as shown more clearly in Fig. 4. The shaft 45 extends through the' wall of the casing A and, on one side, is fixed to a brake hub or drum 46.

The drum 46 is engaged by a brake arm normally urged against the drum by a spring. A solenoid 41 is arranged for drawing the brake arm away from the drum 46 to release shaft 45 for free rotation, when the solenoid is energized. A housing 48 may be provided to enclose the solenoidoperated brake illustrated. Since the solenoidoperated brake is of well-known construction, a detailed description is believed unnecessary.

The shaft 45 extends through the opposite wall of the casing A and is equipped with a exible coupling 49 of well-known construction. If desired, the coupling may be disassembled to separate the motor from the shaft 45 for manual operating of the machine. Shaft 50 leading from the clutch 48 is equipped with a worm gear meshing with the worm 5|, which is driven by motor 52, as shown more clearly in Fig. 2. The motor 52 drives the shaft 45 through coupling 49 for raising vand lowering the chain 35, this drive being through the Worm 5| and worm gear on shaft 50. When the coupling 49 is disconnected, the shaft 45 may rotate separately from shaft 5U, and the apparatus may be manually operated.

In the manual operation of the elevating mechanism, a switch for controlling the solenoid 41 may be supported upon one side of the head casing B, as shown in Fig. 6. In this structure, there is a casing 53, in which is mounted a movable switch member 54 for closing the circuit of the solenoid. When the spring-urged member 54 is pressed inwardly, the circuit of the solenoid is closed and the brake upon shaft 45 released. The operator may then move the counterbalanced casing B readily upwardly or downwardly to the desired point. Upon release of the member 54, the solenoid circuit lis opened, and the brake is applied by its spring to the drum of shaft 45 to maintain it against movement and thusV to hold` 4 the casing B in a xed position for the operation of the stitching mechanism.

When it is desired to operate the apparatus by power, the coupling 43 is employed, as shown in Fig. 4. The switch 55, mounted in the casing 56 on the head casing B, is rotated t0 the right or the left, thus causing the reversible motor 52 to drive its shaft in one direction or the other. Just before the motor 52 is set into operation, the switch 55 closes the solenoid circuit so as to release the brake on shaft 45.

As shown more clearly in Fig. 1, the frame 39 is provided, at its upper end, with a limit switch 51 and in its bottom with a limit switch 58. These limit switches are also reversing switches and after being engaged permit travel of the casing B only in the opposite direction. Such structures are well known in the art. Such switches prevent the casing B from being driven against the end portions of the structure. I also provide a limit'switch 59, as shown more clearly in Fig. 4, having a portion extending slightly below the shoe I2 carried by the stitcher mechanism Should the operator be careless in lowering the head casing B, the limit switch 59, upon striking the carton or other object to be stitched, is effective for opening the circuit in which the motor 52 is placed, and thus eliminating downward movement of the head casing B. If desired, the' As shown more clearly in Fig. 3, the sprocket- 32 is mounted upon an idler shaft 60.

Operation.

In the operation of the apparatus, assuming that the mechanism is to lbe operated manually and assuming that the head casing B is to be raised or lowered to adjust the shoe l2 to the height of a series of cartons, the operator, with his left hand, may move the switch 54 to energize the solenoid 41, while moving, with the same hand, the head casing B upwardly or downwardly to the desired point, and while at the same time using his right hand to feed the cartons forwardly under the stitcher mechanism The motor i8 is controlled by a separate switch and may be operated continuously during the shifting operations described.

If the elevating mechanism is to be operated by power, the coupling 49 is employed, and switch 55 is turned to energize the solenoid circuit while closing the circuit of motor 52. The motor 52, depending upon the direction of rotation 0f its shaft, drives the shaft carrying sprocket 3| and thereby the chain 35 for elevating or lowering the head casing B to the desired point. Turning v 01T o-f the switch 55 de-energizes the motor and,

the casing A and against thrusts in different directions by the rollers 25, 25, 28 and 29.

When it is desired to adjust the shoe |2 relative to the stitching mechanism to meet the requirements of different types of cartons, etc.

which are to be stitched, the leg I3 may be raised or lowered, while modifying the position of the nuts on adjustment screw I5.

While, in the foregoing specification, I have set forth a specic structure in considerable detail for the purpose of illustrating one embodiment of the invention, it will be understood that such details of structure may be varied widely by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

1. In a wire stitching machine, a frame, a head casing slideably mounted in said frame for vertical movement, a counterbalance, sprocket Wheels supported for rotation at the upper and lower ends of said frame, chain means engaging said sprocket wheels and'connecting opposite ends of said head casing to opposite ends of said counterbalance, wire stapling mechanism carried by said head casing, and an adjustable spring connecting one end of said chain to one end of said head casing.

2. In a wire stitching machine, a frame, a head casing, wire stapling mechanism carried by said casing, a shoe extending below said casing and equipped with an upwardly-extending leg secured to said wire stapling mechanism in slideable relation thereto', said leg having a horizontally-extending flange, a, screw carried by said casing and extending through said flange,- and adjustment nuts on said screw and on opposite sides of said flange.

3. In a wire stitching machine, a frame, a head casing slideably mounted in said frame for vertical movement, guide'elements at the upper and lower ends of said frame, a fiexible member extending about said elements and connecting opposite ends of said casing, a brake for one of said elements, a solenoid for effecting release of said brake, and switch means in the circuit of said solenoid for closing said solenoid circuit to render said brake inoperative.

4. In a wire stitching machine, a frame, a head casing slideably mounted in said frame for vertical movement, guide elements at upper and lower ends of said frame, a counterbalance, a

flexible member extending about said elements and connecting said counterbalance to opposite 'ends of said casing, a brake for one of said elements, a solenoid connected for releasing said brake when energized, and switch means in the circuit of said solenoid for closing said solenoid circuit to release said brake.

5. In a wire stitching machine, a frame, a

.head casing slideably mounted in said frame for vertical movement, sprocket wheels mounted on shafts at upper and lower ends of said frame,

"a counterbalance, chain means engaging said said sprocket wheel shafts, a solenoid for moving said brake to release position, and switch vmeans in the circuit of said solenoid for closing said circuit to render said brake inoperative.

6. In a wire stitching machine, a frame, a head casing slideably mounted in said frame for vertical movement, wire stapling mechanism carried by said head casing, means for raising and lowering said head casing, an electric motor for actuating said last-mentioned means, a brake controlling said last-mentioned means, a solenoid device for releasing said brake, and switch means for closing the circuit of said solenoid and closing the circuit of said motor.

7. In a Wire stitching machine, a frame, a head casing slideably mounted in said frame for vertical movement, wire stapling mechanism carried by said head casing, means for raising and lowering said head casing, an electric motor for actuating said last-mentioned means, brake mechanism controlling said last-mentioned means, a solenoid for releasing said brake, switch means for closing the circuit of said solenoid and closing the circuit of said motor, and switch means at the upper and lower ends of said frame adapted to be actuated by contact with said head casing for opening the circuit of said motor.

8. In a wire stitching machine, a frame, a head casing slideably mounted in said frame for vertical movement, wire stapling mechanism carried by said head casing, electric motor driven Y means for raising and lowering said head casing,

and a limit switch depending from said head casing and adapted to be actuated by contact with an object to be stitched for opening the circuit of said motor.

ORVILLE M. TUBBS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 493,298 Rosback Mar. 14, 1893 1,846,945 Bliss et al. Feb. 23, 1932 1,959,609 Bliss et al. May 22, 1934 2,024,750 Sims Dec. 17, 1935 

